Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

friday 5 at the farm: surprises this week

Whew, happy Friday!! What a great week this has been!

Since last I wrote, between and among all of our beautiful daily routines, several delicious little things have happened. Taking note of some of them feels really good. (When the exact opposite things might happen, the negative versions, we would complain, right? So let’s celebrate the small victories and pleasures.)

001 My first November fartlek run felt easy: 8 miles total at 9:31 average (1 up/1 down, 6 in the middle just casual intervals) Ahhhh you guys it felt really easy and I had so much fun. Had that day been less hectic I would gladly have started earlier and tried several more intervals. Anyway, it was kinda messy but overall a decent pace, and it didn’t tax me at all. The day before I had run 10 easy, so I was happy to be zero tired. Progress. Another type of progress, also kind of a surprise: I had to skip running two days in a row this week (Wednesday and Thursday) just due to life obligations, not a lack of motivation, and I was conspicuously un-bothered by it. At least, less bothered than I would have been not long ago, ha. Learning to keep the long view and keep running in balance with life is a sign of emotional progress. (And you can bet that getting out the door this morning to grab ten solitary miles was like pay-day, ha! Super refreshing.)

On Sunday we were surprised by a cluster of hot air balloons above OKC, so beautiful!

002 An unplanned visit from Jess! On Tuesday afternoon our youngest texted asking if she and her (very sweet) friend Mercedes could come to the farm for a visit. They arrived just as Handsome had pulled the truck and trailer in with a load of winter hay, and both young women jumped right up to help. They kicked and shoved with their strong legs four mammoth round bales onto the ground, all the while keeping Meh and the horses held off. Then we played with Klaus (of course) and caught up with each other. These girls are so smart and such fun conversationalists. We all four ate a dinner of baked chicken, roasted butternut squash soup (yes please let’s add a drizzle of coconut milk!), simple green salad, and buttery French bread, toasted. Jess and Mercedes stayed after dinner to play a board game, and we all had a blast. Such a happy surprise for us.

003 Lunch with Handsome at Lido in the Asian District, OKC. We used to eat here pretty frequently years ago but hadn’t been in so long. On Wednesday we found ourselves in town at the same time and he had just enough of a window to eat, so we ducked in and it was great. I had a bowl of vermicelli rice noodles with chicken. It was on top of a big pile of shredded lettuce and had carrots, mint, and crushed peanuts. Delicious. I love when unfamiliar restaurant food is flavorful and filling without a ton of syrupy sauce. And I love surprise lunch dates with my guy.

Also, three cheers for piping hot jasmine tea! So good.

004 Water tank repaired two whole days early!! That is a very happy surprise when you are excited to get caught up on laundry, ha! The repairman was scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday), but earlier this week he advanced our appointment to get ahead of a possible snow this weekend. He spent most of Thursday replacing our ancient well pump and the house water tank, and throughout the day he taught me a lot about how our rural water system works. It was pretty interesting. Klaus assessed the situation as training for when he finally gets to attack an intruder. He used his big boy voice. A lot.

005 Our first true cold snap surprised me. We have already had some cool nights and chilly, breezy afternoons the past month or so, but yesterday and overnight into Friday morning we felt the first blast of truly cold air. That autumn air that is so cold is tastes sweet and almost smells like something else, and certainly, when you catch a whiff of wood smoke from someone’s chimney, that perfume is stronger in the cold. Our kaleidoscope-colored oak, pecan, and maple leaves are abandoning their branches and drying to a crisp on their way to the ground. Already I am raking or sweeping up great oceans of them twice a day. But there is beauty even in the trees’ increasing bareness, and the cold means more soups and thicker socks and that deep sense of rhythm that the winter holidays provide. I’m ready. Tonight our heaters are on and my flower pots are indoors. 

Related: I saw the above tee shirt at Old Navy and it is my motto for a few days. Starting next weekend, our calendar is packed all the way through to the New Year, so this weekend I intend to crate and hold some space for breathing and stretching and being cozy. I want (NEED) to gear up for the season in some quiet ways. Soak up some details. There is some winter nesting to enjoy.

After I run. : )

Any surprises in your world this week? Are you fully invested in the season change now?

Thanks for checking in!! 

“The moments of happiness we enjoy
take us by surprise.
It is not that we seize them
but that they seize us.”
~Ashley Montagu
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

read, watch, listen & a few snapshots of life lately

READ

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, the Golden State Killer book by Michelle McNamara. Sorry-not-sorry. Give me all the serial killer stories. I fell away from reading as much while we watched so many Halloween movies last month, but I’ve picked it back up again. 

The recent blog post by Not Without Salt called “Getting Together.” She writes on the essentials of gathering around the table and confesses a youthful obsession with Martha Stewart, which I share, as all good girls form the 80’s do. Then she describes in relatable ways and with gorgeous photos how her get-togethers actually look these days. I adore (I MEAN ADORE) her idea of hosting a clean-out-the-fridge dinner party. Man. Yes, please. Let’s do it. Local friends, expect that phone call.

Umm, you guys I was included in an article for Women’s Running magazine! “Running at Every Age: Run for Life!” is in the October print issue and also online now. This is what happens sometimes to people who answer Twitter polls with too much enthusiasm. Please note: The author kind of says that I trained for a triathlon. I did not. That was a misunderstanding and I feel weird about it. But the rest of it is so good!

Half Baked Harvest just posted her luscious 2018 Thanksgiving menu, and it has my holiday vibes in overdrive. I want some of that cranberry-brie pull-apart bread as soon as possible. 

lazyw Thanksgiving groceries
Pretty stoked to write my November grocery lists!

The Norwegian mindset is always fascinating to me, and this list of ways to thrive in the deepest of winters is a good read. I mean, most years Oklahoma is a thousand times milder than Norway, but by our own standards we are looking at a very cold and snowy few months ahead, so I will keep these reminders handy.

I have been paying special attention to The Apartment recently, both for better productivity and for the upcoming house guest season, wahoo! So this list of 22 guest room tips by Nesting With Grace is much appreciated. 

I’m adding chalkboards everywhere, lots more various artwork on the walls, & storage. Loving this project!

Our friend Kellie, truly one of the most gentle-strong people I have ever known, sent this devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries, called “Process Before the Promise.”  

Hoping doesn’t mean we ignore reality. No, hoping means we acknowledge reality in the very same breath that we acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Our hope can’t be tied to whether or not a circumstance or another person changes. Our hope must be tied to the unchanging promises of God. ~Lysa TerKeurst

WATCH

Netflix is King, apparently. From the creepy and extraordinarily well-written series Haunting of Hill House to the four-part series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat I kinda love television again. Have you caught episodes of either of these fantastic series?

Yoga With Adrienne you guys. Check out her recent episode called, “Creating Space.” The boys and I did this one last Monday evening before dinner, and it was everything my body and spirit needed.

LISTEN

Oprah’s podcast had fallen off of my radar for a while, but a nudge from a running friend got me listening again. This episode featuring author Michael Pollan is just so good. It’s soothing, not preachy. And I especially appreciate his gardening comments.

A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.

A Few Snapshots of Life Lately:

a quick little hike up near Keystone Lake recently
my two boys xoxoxo

 

zinnias slowly fading and still my favorite
At MOM & Dad’s house, Jessica & Chloe assembling egg rolls for Chloe’s birthday dinner, Dante & Grandma in the background. Such a fun family night! xoxo
Kenzie & Jessica playing “Rock Paper Scissors” and Dante, chillin.
My big life goal is now to build a ship at the farm, like from Monkey Island at our OKC Zoo, circa 1980. A life sized one, ok, not a replica. Ok thanks.
Batman & his costume rival on Halloween night, haha!
My Christmas cactus is thinking about blooming, and it is so pretty! This reminds me it’s time to get some paper-whites started in pots.

OK friends, are you cheering for anyone at the NYC Marathon today? I am! Her name is Kim! And for the elites I am rooting for Allie. I have a measly 9 mile progression run and weights to do myself, then we are off for a lunchtime hike and picnic lunch with Mickey and Kellie. We are, the four of us, working on something really special that I will share eventually. It feels so good. 

I wish you the happiest of Sundays. Enjoy this weather, all the gifts at your feet, and think of the very best possibilities. Feed them, the things you pray for, with your fertile imagination. Cultivate joy. It matters.

“Follow your heart’s knowing
rather than you mind’s guessing.”
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

“be gentle”

This reminder came to me in earnest on Saturday, but it has been circling for weeks: “Be gentle.” 

I saw it at a nearby thrift store while we shopped for a table lamp. The message stopped me in my tracks, the words scrawled in loopy handwriting with a blue grease pencil on this beautiful little dressing mirror, a pink vintage treasure, chalky to the touch and no doubt filled with memories. 

“Be Gentle,” the message pleads with passersby to not crash past and damage this.

I had been hearing and feeling this all month in lots of different ways, but I just kept crashing through every day.

Do you remember in that Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty when the silent homeless man holds so many cardboard signs, yet he goes largely unnoticed until finally the messages are unmistakably aimed at the main character? Ok. You’re with me now for sure.

Be Gentle, lady. Ease up.

It’s all okay.

Soften a little, breathe more deeply.

Touch everything more lightly.

Speak and think more slowly.

Gentle yourself,

like it’s a verb as much as an adjective.

Move into more delicacy.

I have a tendency to crash through my days with a weird sort of desperation, trying not to miss a thing, trying not to waste a drop of time or energy. Everything is so beautiful and I really do love my life so much, even the difficult parts. I’m learning to appreciate that particular sort of growth.

It’s all a positive panic, but still a panic. And too often that results in spreading my attention (my awareness) so thinly that I only manage to glance at my surroundings and opportunities. I miss out on the deep, nourishing soak that I crave. And that means that my people and animals and home and community miss out on my undivided attention. 

I move (and speak and think) so quickly that I become rough and handle breakable things carelessly. Things like dishes and garden tools and books and even relationships. 

When my grandpa was alive he would have said, “Settle, settle.” He would have hushed me lovingly, his tan and wrinkled hand parallel to the ground, pulsing steadily. He would have done so with a smile and maybe some soft laughter. 

Some gentleness is in order. Some stillness and attention. 

I definitely trust God enough to pause and take a deep breath. Choose to see and affirm that He is in control and that I can afford to slow down.

My zinnias and other summer flowers are fading slowly, very slowly, so I watch them obsessively. Every tiny change is fascinating. Beautiful.

 

Okay, this is precisely the motivation I needed today, friends. Kind of the opposite of how I usually revv my engines on Monday morning, ha! I hope it finds you in a state of bliss or inspiration or at least poised for exactly what your soul needs most.

Just a few days left of this fine transition month. I am so excited to see what November brings. But I will reign myself a little bit, gently, so it all comes more slowly. One glittering moment at a time. 

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast.
You Got to Make the Morning Last
~Simon & Garfunkel
XOXOXOXO

friday 5 at the farm: busy, happy, thankful week

Last weekend was a long one for us, four days of much needed deep refreshment, and this work week that wraps up today has been solid. It was solid, happy, productive, and good in many ways. Last week’s extended recharge has been put to good use. Here are some headlines from the Lazy W!

001 Dad’s Birthday!

My Dear Ol’ Dad turned 61 this week, and last night we all gathered at home for his requested dinner of, “ribeyes and hot fudge sundaes.”  Yum! I took exactly zero photos because we were having so much fun and my hands were always full. My sister Angela and I shopped and cooked dinner, then seven of us (all adults this time, which is rare) sat around the dining room table talking about DNA testing, conspiracy theories, some wild family history, and more. Everything. We feasted on food and love and excellent conversation. Jessica drove over, too, and we all had such a great time. Laugh upon laugh upon laugh! Happiest of birthdays, Dad, we love you so much!

002 Batmobile Progress

This morning, between meetings and court and who knows what else at the Commish, Handsome stole some time at a very cool Oklahoma City business to help blow the “bubbles” that will crown the Batmobile. And he invited me last minute to watch! So I dropped everything at the farm and drove to town. I haven’t told you much about this project yet, but I will soon.

Short version: It’s a fun and labor-intensive old-car restoration that will play a big role in our community outreach hopes and dreams. And it becomes more fun and exciting every week. When I say “bubbles” and “Batmobile” in the same sentence, do you picture exactly what I’m talking about? Cool.

003 Halloween Vibes

Thanks to an attic full of Halloween decorations and some pumpkin fun with friends last Saturday night, our house is festooned with all the seasonal details. We love it. And we are living our best hide-pounce-scream-recover life, too, especially after dark. So fun. Even the gardens are in on the spooky mood, and I take every opportunity to walk around the farm in galoshes and sweaters.

004 Aprons & Organization

Domestically, I have been working steadily to empty drawers and closets, purge, reorder, clean, and hold space everywhere I can find a bit of congestion. I crave space physically and emotionally. It feels amazing, like the best precursor to nesting. It’s that deep-breathing, roll-your-shoulders kind of private survey I like to do just as the seasons really trade. It feels great, and every day I find new things to do around here.

This afternoon my plate was clear enough to sew two fun apron designs that have been swimming in my head. (This one is for a very special local podcaster!)

005 Fat, Fuzzy Horses

In keeping with the season change, our farm-ily is fattened up and beginning to retain a certain amount of fluff and fuzz. It’s definitely time. The horses are eating all the hay I offer them (so much), and the chickens are feasting on more than the usual amount of herbs, rose hips, and grass clippings, plus all the average fare. Fingers crossed that they soon decided to lay some eggs.

Okay, that’s our little sum up from the week. Approximately one million other things happened, too, because life is full and beautiful. If our internet cooperates, I’ll have a post up sometime Saturday about what I’ve been reading, watching, and listening to. Good stuff.

Happy weekend!

Redeem the Time
Even the Weird Days & Moments
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

indian summer and back again (and 5 friday photos)

An especially lush few months in Oklahoma made the end of August feel like June. The pond was high and glassy, the gardens verdant, almost tropical. All the way through Labor Day we luxuriated in one gorgeous week after another, scooping up a cool, mild daybreak here and there, just for extra credit.

Then we noticed the zinnias and gomphrena fading a little and the basil going to seed, even as the deep green leaves grew as big as your hand. The pond stayed high, but the goat head stickers finally made their unhappy appearance. (They were several weeks late, so we will try not to complain, but this is a sure sign of the end of the salad days.) We eventually halted daily pool maintenance and braced ourselves for the inevitable sight of that 20,000-gallon green lagoon. We knew fall was creeping up, but the afternoons stayed so humid. Pumpkin spice erupted on the scene, too. It was a mixed-up couple of weeks.

I was on the verge of making peace with the season change from summer to fall when the season changed again, back to a veritable heat wave. The wildflower meadows burst again with pollen. Overnight the pepper plants grew heavy with red, green, and purple treasures. The horses grazed lazily with sweaty bellies and swooshing tails. The afternoons were noisy with cicadas, and I was into it. I had even made peace with the grasshoppers, for chewing up my cannas.

 

When my husband noticed a “peak hours” electricity price event and the weather station said we could expect another heat wave, he cleaned the pool with feverish delight. I bought the last watermelon still languishing at the store, and we rallied for at least a few more days of summer. In late September.

Carpeing the diems, you know?

Well, we enjoyed two more swims this past week, and that watermelon was pure, sugary heaven. I made sure to feed the rinds to the horses slowly, knowing it would be many months before another such offering. I saved two big hunks for filling with seed for Shoulder Chicken. We made eye contact, and she understood the importance of this treat.

And now, our second summer is over. Nobody who has lived in Oklahoma very long is really surprised. The temperatures can swing from season to season effortlessly. We just take each week as it comes. Carpeing the diems to the best of our abilities and imaginations.

Today the skies slid opened and poured out all the promised floodwaters. The temperature at daybreak (72 degrees) was probably the warmest we will see for a while. And I am drinking coffee in the afternoon. This never happens when it’s hot outside. Yesterday I added some fall plants to my containers outside and some Halloween fun to a few corners of the house inside. We bought ingredients to bake for an upcoming pie contest in the City. And our bookshelves are loaded with good reading for when it’s too wet to enjoy the outdoors.

Summer 2018 was beautiful, satisfying, and pleasure-filled. We miss it already. I also learned a lot and felt like the work here was well done. But Autumn will bring her own smorgasbord of pleasures and work worth doing. I’m eager to sink into it all. 

“Slow down, you move too fast.”
Simon & Garfunkel
XOXOXOXO